The present invention relates to a rear vehicle body structure of a vehicle which comprises an internal combustion engine, a generator drivable by the internal combustion engine, a buttery chargeable with en electric power generated by the generator, and an electric motor driving wheels with a supply of an electric power from the buttery.
A so-called electric vehicle equipped with an engine, which comprises an internal combustion engine, a generator drivable by the internal combustion engine, a buttery chargeable with en electric power generated by the generator, and an electric motor driving wheels with a supply of an electric power from the buttery, is known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-155828 discloses a vehicle which comprises an internal combustion engine which is arranged laterally in an engine room which is partitioned from a vehicle compartment by a dash panel, a generator which is connected to an output shaft of the internal combustion engine which extends rearwardly, a buttery chargeable with en electric power generated by the generator, and an electric motor which is arranged below a vehicle rear panel so as to drive wheels with a supply of an electric power from the buttery. Further, this vehicle comprises a projecting portion which is formed at a front floor panel so as to project upward and connects to the dash panel at its front end so as to open to the inside of the engine room, and the above-described generator is stored below the projection portion.
Herein, in a so-called plug-in hybrid vehicle as a kind of the electric vehicle equipped with an engine, especially, in which the size of the internal combustion engine is so small that it has a superior layout flexibility, it may be considered that the internal combustion engine and the generator are arranged at a rear portion of the vehicle.
In this kind of electric vehicle equipped with an engine in which the internal combustion engine and the generator are arranged at the rear portion of the vehicle, in case of applying a rear suspension which comprises a lateral connecting member which extends in a vehicle width direction and connects to both rear-wheel supporting portions, such as a torsion beam type of rear suspension or a rigid axel type of rear suspension, it may be required to improve thea traveling stability of the vehicle and decrease the yaw inertia moment of the vehicle, by properly arranging the internal combustion engine, generator and lateral connecting member of the rear suspension.